Page 89 of Out of the Shadows
“For me to give him a share of all my future business. That way he can bypass my parents and have a steady income. As long as he has this video, he has the upper hand because no one will draft me if this gets out. The bad PR and reputation alone will basically blacklist me. If the video doesn’t do it, the stalking charges he’s threatening will.”
“What the fuck?” I gaped at him. “You mean press charges on my behalf?”
“Yup. It’s apparently possible, even though you’re considered an adult now, since the alleged crime happened when you were a minor. Since he’s friends with the district attorney,I’m pretty sure he could even push it up the chain to avoid even having to call you as a witness — considering he’s got plenty of evidence.” He sighed. “I could threaten not going to the NFL, but I’d rather get to the root of the problem and take that leverage out of his hands.”
I nodded firmly. “Absolutely. I don’t want you to be my dad’s golden goose. He can rot in hell for all this shit as far as I’m concerned.”
“Before you showed up, we were in the middle of trying to figure out who might have leaked this material to him.”
“Yeah, I caught all that. You really think it’s someone on the team?”
Colt’s jaw hardened, a muscle in it twitching. “It has to be. No other way.”
“Umm … Nico seems like the most obvious choice. He’s the only one you’ve clashed with lately that I know of,” I said, chewing on my lower lip. My fingers were tangled in the hem of my top, twisting and tugging at the fabric. The more I thought about it, the more sense it made.
“My point exactly,” Hunter added.
“Well, I think Hailey might have some insight into that.”
I frowned, uncomfortable. “What do you mean?”
Hunter’s eyes flicked to me. “Your dad set you up with Nico, didn’t he?”
Colt’s jaw twitched. “Yeah, we already know that.”
Hunter nodded. “Right, and Nico wanted a second date. But you stood him up.”
I glanced at Colt, guilt weighing heavily on my chest. “I did.”
“And then you started dating Colt,” Hunter said, his voice calm but sharp.
Colt’s hands clenched into fists, resting on his thighs. “So Nico’s pissed,” he muttered.
“Pissed and looking for revenge,” Hunter agreed. There was an edge to his tone, but he was holding something back, his expression unreadable.
Colt exhaled harshly. “Even if that’s true, how’d he get to my phone? He’d need an opening.”
Hunter shrugged, his smile fading. “Locker room, practice, after the game. Plenty of opportunities if he was determined enough.”
Colt heaved a sigh of frustration. “The only problem is, how are we going to prove it? I can’t just accuse him of something. There must have been something in the whole thing that made it worth his while, more than just screwing with me.”
Hunter leaned back in his chair again, a sinister smile curling his lips. “You know what … I think I know what was in it for him.”
Thirty Two
Colt
“What’s that?”
Curious, I peered over at Hailey, who was stripping out of her clothes and slipping into one of my T-shirts, the one she always slept in now that the nights were getting colder. The thought of her covered in my scent, her small tits pressed against the fabric I’d worn before, drove me wild every time.
My cock twitched under the sheet, but I was too focused on the strange darksomethingI spotted on Hailey’s hip to really pay attention.
“Oh!” Her cheeks flushed a little, and she stopped in her tracks before peering over at me from under her lashes. “That. I completely forgot about it with everything that happened today. By the way, you really should remember to lock your front door. We, um, were a little spontaneous today and went to a tattoo parlor.”
I sat up with a jerk and leaned back on my hands. “Let mesee,” I commanded, beckoning her over with my finger.
She padded across the wooden floor on bare feet toward me, my shirt once again hiding her tattoo from my prying eyes. Standing before me, she seemed nervous, the way she chewed her lip and fiddled with the fabric. I grabbed hold of her wrist and pulled her the rest of the way over to the bed.
